valentine's day How to deliver the key to your heart valentine's day cupcakes with gold leaf - a how-to tutorial by Sweetopia

The site Sweetopia has an extensive tutorial posted about how to make these key to your heart cupcakes using gold leaf! There are tweezers (!!) and paintbrushes involved. I love how much effort went into these - it shows. They are beautiful and would make a gorgeous valentine's day cupcake gift. Do check it out. You can also find Sweetopia on Facebook and @sweetopia on Twitter.

valentine's day Gluten free and vegan espresso football cupcakes

These gluten-free and vegan espresso cupcakes are by blogger Gluten Free by Babs (check back on her blog soon for the recipe), via Flickr. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

valentine's day Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes plus recipe link

These chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes are by blogger Gem over at Cupcake Crazy!. They actually are filled with cookie dough and have brown sugar frosting in addition to a mini cookie on top! She's based in Turks & Caicos (I know, aren't you jealous?) and gives us the lowdown on how she approached baking these, a link to the recipe, and some tips. Via Flickr.

valentine's day Superman, Batman and Spider Man cupcakes!

Blogger Sugar Swings! Serves Some baked these superhero cupcakes and gives you instructions on how to do it yourself!

valentine's day Sour Patch Kids cupcakes in 4 flavors!

I totally remember when Sour Patch Kids were all the rage in high school. My friend Carrie used to basically eat a bag of them and half a bagel for lunch (I'm not endorsing this eating plan, just reminiscing). Breanna over at the blog Ingredients of a 20something has not only made sour-sweet Sour Patch Kids cupcakes, she's made them in four different flavors! Get the recipe and more info at her blog.

valentine's day Cupcake cupcake topper on sugar cookie birthday cupcakes!

Blogger Risa at Baked Perfection celebrated her birthday in November by making these fun sugar cookie cupcakes with vanilla frosting and mini cupcake-shaped cupcake toppers! She writes:

Vanilla has to be one of my favorite flavors, if not my favorite. Since I love vanilla so much I decided that was exactly what I wanted for my birthday. The last several years Zack baked my birthday treat, but unfortunately he was out of town for work on my birthday this past year. Several people offered to make me something, but I really wanted to make these cupcakes and that is exactly what I did. They were so delicious! The cupcake was wonderful and the frosting is my absolute favorite frosting. I have to chew gum while making it and decorating or else I eat it straight out of the bowl. I got the idea for the adorable little cupcake toppers (which are frosted mini Reese's cups) from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

valentine's day Grasshopper cupcakes from Chez Us

These grasshopper cupcakes are by bloggers Chez Us, where you can get the recipe (via LA Times food blog Daily Dish). From Chez Us:

Normally Grasshopper ice cream is a deep green but keeping with the chocolate theme, I opted for a deep dark chocolate cupcake using Scharffen Berger’s unsweetened cocoa powder and strived for not only flavor but moisture and texture; I wanted this cupcake to be dense, moist and flavorful. I made a batter using the coconut butter, chocolate powder and buttermilk and I added crushed Oreo cookies and peppermint oil instead of vanilla extract for the extra flavor. The oil is intense and you only need a small amount to make an impact on the flavor. My frosting was made with more chocolate, sugar, creamy butter and condensed milk. I was afraid the milk may make the end result too sweet, instead it was rich and creamy.

valentine's day Lemon-limoncello filled cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker

These are from a 2009 post at the food blog Brown Eyed Baker, but were so bright and cheerful-looking, I wanted to share them. She writes:

There are three levels of lemon flavor in the cupcakes that combine to deliver the perfect balance of tart and sweet, and had people fighting over the last cupcake (seriously). The batter is flavored with lemon zest, lemon juice and a punch of limoncello; a tart lemon curd fills the inside of the cupcakes, and on top sits a sweet cream cheese frosting with the subtle tang of limoncello. These are simple and classy, a perfect dessert for a summer meal.

valentine's day Stacked Neopolitan New Year's Eve cupcakes from Sugar Swings

Blogger Sugar Swings baked up three kinds of cupcakes and used them to make coconut-topped Neopolitan cupcakes. How fun! And easy! Via Flickr.

valentine's day Harry Potter cupcakes!

Blogger ellecupcake posted these Harry Potter cupcakes she made with Mark Leggett. You can see more of her cupcakes on her blog and in her Flickr cupcakes set.



I like the facial hair on Hagrid:




Ron Weasley


Harry Potter

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valentine's day When a chocolate peanut butter cupcake is a thing of beauty, plus peppermint Oreo, salted caramel, pomegranate and butterflies

These cupcakes are all by blogger Amrita of The Sweet Art, via her Flickr account. Click on the photos below for blog post and recipe links! I don't think the chocolate peanut butter one is up yet though. Once again, I'm in the wonderful but frustrating position of there being way too many cupcakes I'd love to post, so do check out the rest, these are just four of my favorites.


chocolate peanut butter cupcake


peppermint Oreo cupcake


salted caramel cupcake


pomegranate cupcake (no blog post on this one)

And last but not least...butterfly cupcakes!



She used the cookbook Hello, Cupcake! and writes:

This took me quite a while but it was a fun project. My bff Cici came to spend the night and we worked on the butterflies together. I used parchment paper to draw outlines of wings that were already in the book. Using melted candy melts, you just have to go over the lines again, and fill it in with different colors. I then used a toothpick to swirl them together and sprinkled nonpareils on them.

valentine's day Despicable Me Minion cupcakes, super cute snowman cupcakes and Oreo and mini cupcake edible cupcake toppers

I'm really not sure how I missed these Despicable Me Minion cupcakes (and, yes, full confession time again: I have not actually seen Despicable Me by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, because if I had I surely would've blogged them. They're made with Twinkies! And smarties, candy melts, licorice and a black food marker. See her post above for exact instructions. Photo via Flickr.



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And, staying on topic for the day, snowman cupcakes!



And last but not least (I am restraining myself from posting basically all of her amazing, amazing cupcakes), these cookie and mini cupcake edible cupcake toppers! Click here to find out how to make them.

valentine's day Pretzel antlers on reindeer cupcakes from blogger Mini Baker

I know Christmas is over, but we will be keeping the Christmas cupcakes coming this week, because there are just so many fun ones, like these reindeer cupcakes by blogger Mini Baker, where you can get instructions on exactly how to make these at home.



Here's the breakdown of what's in them:

-Ears= pieces of Tootsie Rolls
-Red "Rudolph" Nose= Mini Red M&M
-Muzzle= Nilla Wafer
-Eyes= Mini Brown M&Ms
-Antlers= Twist Pretzels
-Fur= Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Speaking of Mini Baker, how better to promote your food blog than...writing your name across "Ding Dong" filled cupcakes?

valentine's day Candy cane Pop Rocks brownie cupcakes and coconut snowball cupcakes

True confession: Just as I've never seen certain classic movies like Star Wars, I've never tried Pop Rocks. I sortof know what they are supposed to do/taste like, but I suspect they are one of those candies that you have to truly experience, not just imagine. Well, if I'd known they came in candy cane flavor, I might have tried them sooner! Find out how to make them at the blog An American Cupcake in London (via Flickr).

I made some vanilla frosting and then split it evenly between two bowls and made one half red and added some peppermint extract. I added vanilla extract to the other half.



And since New York City, where I live, is in the middle of a blizzard, posting An American Cupcake in London's snowball cupcakes (devil's food with cream cheese frosting topped with coconut and white chocolate snowflake) also seemed appropriate - click through for recipe.

valentine's day Chocolate candy cane cupcake plus recipe link

This chocolate candy cane cupcake is by blogger All Betz Off, where you can get the recipe too. She writes about some of her frosting woes and then concludes:

If you do attempt to make these cupcakes I would suggest sticking them in the freezer for a bit before you frost them to give the top layer of cake a chance to harden up. I should have done this but didn't have time. Also, you can either make the cupcakes from scratch or you can do the abbreviated version from a box.

valentine's day Merry Christmas red velvet cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting

From food blog Paris Pastry, which has the recipe for these red velvet cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.



She writes:

Red velvet cupcakes can be tricky. First of all, do you fold the baking soda & vinegar into the batter, or mix it in? How much red food coloring should you add? What kind of frosting goes best with red velvet cake? And then I’m not even talking about the likelihood that your cupcakes might overflow or, worse, sink. It seems all so much easier to buy a cake mix for red velvet cupcakes. There’s just one little problem… Red velvet cake mix disgusts me. Not ALL cake mixes, just the red velvet kind. I was feeling brave last night and decided to give this recipe a go. It turned out to be the easiest and best tasting red velvet cake I have ever stumbled upon. Rating: 4.5 out of 5

valentine's day 5 extra fabulous cupcakes by The Lone Baker

One of my favorite blogging discoveries this year has been The Lone Baker. Her cupcakes are truly works of art. I selected 5 among many, many amazing cupcakes, from her Flickr account.


"Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli." orange cupcakes






chocolate beetroot cupcake featuring 'Candied Beets' (Beetroot) from Dessert Fourplay


peace on earth cupcake

valentine's day Goat cheese frosting. Yes, really.

Would you believe this cupcake is topped with goat cheese frosting?



Well, it's true! Blogger Found Baking made apple spice cupcakes using a Martha Stewart recipe (get the recipe from her blog) and made goat cheese frosting to top them off!

She writes:

The cake uses apple sauce to bring that apple harvest flavor to life. I used unsweetened, organic apple sauce but you can certainly use a homemade apple sauce if you so please (Martha recommends it actually). For those who are not so keen on goat cheese, you can always opt to increase the amount of cream cheese (50/50 ratio with the goat cheese) in the frosting to make it more mellow.

valentine's day Santa hat cupcake and recipe link for chocolate mint candy cane cupcake

Check out this cute Santa hat cupcake by blogger Created by Diane (via Flickr). Recipe is here.



Also fun: her chocolate mint candy cane cupcake! "Chocolate mint cupcake with mint buttercream frosting crushed candy edges and a cute little candy cane on top." Get the recipe here.

valentine's day Buzz Lightyear cookie cupcakes

Rose at the blog Happy Craft Kids made these Buzz Lightyear cupcakes and offers up very detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to make them using Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (yum!).